Saint Chŏng Yak-jong

Saint Chŏng Yak-jong, also called Augustine Chŏng
(born 1760, Korea—died April 8, 1801, Korea; canonized 1984), one of the most eminent leaders in the early propagation of Roman Catholicism in Korea. He was the elder brother of Chŏng Yak-yong, the famous scholar of the Silhak (Korean: “Practical Learning”) movement in the late Yi dynasty.

Born to a family noted for its scholarly background, Chŏng was converted to Roman Catholicism by the Chinese priest Chou Wen-mu (James Chou), the first ordained priest ever to enter Korea. Chŏng made a great contribution toward the spread of the gospel in Korea and served as the first president of Myŏngdo-hoe (“Society of Bright Truth”), an institute established for the study and spread of Roman Catholic doctrines. He also wrote the Principal Articles of the Religion, the first guidebook to Roman Catholicism written in Korean; it contributed toward the spread of the Korean alphabet, which had been generally neglected in favour of Chinese.

His second book remained unfinished because of government persecution. Arrested in 1801, Chŏng refused to submit to the will of the authorities. He claimed that the prohibition of Roman Catholicism was wrong, declaring that he was not afraid to die for the sake of truth. He was executed at the age of 42 and became one of the most celebrated Korean Christian martyrs. He was among 103 Korean martyrs canonized by Pope John Paul II in 1984.

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